Bukele Refuses to Return Man Mistakenly Deported from U.S.

Visiting Washington on Monday, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele told reporters during a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump that he has no plans to return Salvadoran national Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported from the U.S. last month.

Abrego Garcia is currently being held in one of the high-security prisons Bukele has established in recent years as part of his campaign against gangs and crime in El Salvador.

The Trump Administration has alleged that Abrego Garcia is a member of the notorious MS-13 gang, a claim his family denies. In court proceedings, the Administration has acknowledged that an “administrative error” led to his removal from the country.

On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous 9–0 ruling ordering the Trump Administration to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States.

The Trump Administration argues it lacks the ability to bring him back, claiming that doing so would amount to kidnapping. Bukele echoed that sentiment when speaking with reporters, stating: “How can I return him to the United States? Smuggle him in? Of course I’m not going to do it. The question is preposterous. How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States?”

President Bukele has closely cooperated with the Trump Administration in housing deported immigrants and criminal offenders.

President Trump has recently floated the idea of sending American citizens to serve their prison terms in El Salvador, describing it as a cost-saving measure for housing dangerous criminals.

On Monday, Trump said he has directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to examine whether such a policy would be legal under U.S. law.